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If you've made a resolution this year to improve your career, consider joining a LinkedIn group to help you brainstorm ideas and get job advice, LinkedIn Connection Director Nicole Williams says. She also suggests focusing on making meaningful connections instead of aiming for hundreds of weak connections.

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LinkedIn says it has updated its search functionality to return results based on users' profile information and connections. Also, LinkedIn free users can now search outside their connections, a feature that used to be reserved for premium users.

Politics are divisive, so it's best to keep political discussions out of the workplace when possible and to be respectful of different opinions, says Beth Carvin, CEO of Nobscot. "Even if you’re a small company and 75% of the workforce is all of a similar political persuasion, and you guys want to talk and laugh and have fun and make fun of the other side, what of that 25%? Are you being respectful of that 25%?" she says.

Distractions that last for as little as 3 seconds can double error rates, a Michigan State University study finds. "Even momentary interruptions can seem jarring when they occur during a process that takes considerable thought," lead researcher Erik Altmann says.

Graying hair, outdated clothes and poor posture can undermine you at work as others might perceive your skills as also being outdated, Anita Bruzzese writes. To avoid looking old and being seen as past your prime, you don't have to race to the plastic surgeon but can make updates to your hair and wardrobe "to just become a better version of yourself," she writes.

Replace the objective statement on your résumé with one that tells the employer what you have to offer, Arnie Fertig writes. "Your branding statement, in turn, is a condensed, restated version of your elevator pitch. It is the briefest possible answer to the question: 'Tell me about yourself,'" he writes.